1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to artificial boulders and specifically to a method of making artificial hollow core boulders and rocks using a large percentage of expended materials.
2. Prior Art
Boulders and rocks have long been used in landscaping for aesthetic purposes, such as to provide a natural effect, to highlight certain areas and to enhance the beauty of the areas. And the use of artificial boulders for aesthetic purposes is well known in the prior art.
Currently, many people are concerned with recycling and with the environment.
The present invention provides an artificial hollow core boulder or rock that is aesthetically pleasing, easy and economical to make, and can be manufactured locally. It also provides for the use of materials that would otherwise be waste and go into already overcrowded landfills.
Previously, artificial hollow rocks and boulders have been made using a mold, thus increasing manufacturing expense, and the method of their manufacture has not addressed recycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,100 (1996), to Kluh and Precht proposes to manufacture large scale artificial rocks from plastic reproductions. This would involve having to go to the sites to get the molds for the reproductions, and it does not address recycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,927 (1999), to Roberts proposes a method of producing artificial rock formations using flexible molds of latex. This entails having to first make master models, then to make the actual molds, and does not address recycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,411 B1 (2001), to Warfel proposes a hollow decorative rock product that is made from a mold and is basically a shell that can be used to cover outside items such as utility boxes. Again, this requires that a mold be made before the rock can be constructed. Also, there is little similarity between this rock and its method of manufacture and the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,744 (2000), to Bright, Sr. proposes a rock shell formed to resemble a boulder. The exterior surface has an aperture into the cavity, which can be filled with ballast. This invention does not address recycling. Again, it has little similarity in its method of manufacture to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,359 B1 (2002), to O'Connell proposes a rock shell, shaped and colored like a rock with a hollow interior for a light source. Again, this invention does not address recycling, and this rock differs significantly from the rock of the present invention and its method of manufacture.
The current inventors could find no method in the prior art of making a hollow core artificial boulder or rock that was similar to the method of our invention.